Time Is Of The Essence
by huffleclaw22
Summary: "The Second Wizarding War is over and done, the evil has lost, and the good have won..." It appears that Wizarding Britain can finally live in peace, but Voldemort's followers want revenge for their master's downfall, what happens when they plan a secret attack? Will Harry and the DA/Order catch wind of it in time? Time is of the essence...(better summ. inside! plz read the A/N!)
1. Break-Ups & Butterbeers

**PLEASE READ THIS NOTE, SUPES IMPORTANT YOooo!**

**A/N: JK Rowling owns Potterverse in all it's epicness! She rocks Dobby's socks! XD **

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read the 'Character List' and 'Setting' and 'Plot' or you will be EXTREMELY confused. Well, you might not be if you have an open mind to 'fanfiction', but anyone who is confused at all things non-canon REALLY needs to read them. Also-I worked really hard on the character list and it took me awhile to make. I know it's long, but it will hopefully make your experience reading this fanfic better or at least less confusing. OH-and this isn't the same as my other fic 'Harry Potter and the Beginnings of Wiz War 3?' other than the term 'Neo Death Eater'.**

**PS-as I write this, I'm going to be visiting Orlando for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Universal!**

**If you like this story and have any ideas, drop a review, or don't. Please no flames! :)**

* * *

_**Character List:**_

**~The Marauders & Friends~**

******James Charlus "Prongs" Potter; age 38; messy black hair; warm hazel eyes; pureblood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Games and Sports British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters; married to Lily Evans-Potter**

******S********irius Orion "Padfoot" Black; age 38; wavy black hair; bright blue eyes; pureblood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Games and Sports British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters; married to Marlene McKinnon-Black**

******Remus John "Moony" Lupin; age 38; shaggy brown hair; warm green eyes; half-blood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Law Enforcement Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects; married to Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin**

******Lillian Evelyn "Lily" Evans-Potter; age 38; wavy red hair; bright green eyes; muggle-born; works part-time at Flourish & Blotts; married to James Potter**

******Marlene Elizabeth "Marls" McKinnon-Black; age 38; wavy blonde hair; bright blue eyes; pureblood; works part-time at The Leaky Cauldron; married to Sirius Black**

******Nymphadora Andromeda "Tonks" Tonks-Lupin; age 25; metamorphagus; half-blood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Law Enforcement Auror Office; married to Remus Lupin**

******Kingsley Shacklebolt; age 44; bald; deep brown eyes; pureblood; is the Minister for Magic; single**

******~The Golden Trio & Friends~**

**********Harry James Potter; age 18; messy black hair; bright green eyes; half-blood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Law Enforcement Auror Office (trainee); dating Ginny Weasley**

**********Ronald Bilius "Ron" Weasley; age 18; shaggy red hair; bright blue eyes; pureblood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Law Enforcement Auror Office (trainee); dating Melanie Potter**

**********Hermione Jean Granger; age 18; wavy brown hair; bright brown eyes; muggle-born; is a Hogwarts "eigth year" student; dating Draco Malfoy**

**********Ginevra Molly "Ginny" Weasley; age 17; wavy red hair; warm amber eyes; pureblood; is a Hogwarts seventh year student; dating Harry Potter**

**********Melanie Amanda Potter; age 17; wavy red hair; warm hazel eyes; half-blood; is a Hogwarts seventh year student; dating Ron Weasley**

**********Luna Angelica Lovegood; age 17; wavy platinum blonde hair; deep gray eyes; pureblood; is a Hogwarts seventh year student; dating Seamus Finnigan**

**********Seamus Kieran Finnigan; age 18; messy sandy hair; bright blue eyes; half-blood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Games and Sports British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters; dating Luna Lovegood**

**********Neville Nicholas Longbottom; age 18; shaggy brown hair; warm hazel eyes; pureblood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Games and Sports Official Gobstones Club; dating Hannah Abbott**

**********Hannah Bethany Abbott; age 18; wavy blonde hair; bright amber eyes; half-blood; works at The Leaky Cauldron; dating Neville Longbottom**

**********Ernest Joseph "Ernie" MacMillan; age 18; messy blonde hair; warm green eyes; pureblood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Law Enforcement Wizengamot; dating Susan Bones**

**********Susan Amelia Bones; age 18; wavy red hair; warm brown eyes; pureblood; works in the MoM Department of Magical Law Enforcement Wizengamot; dating Ernie MacMillan**

**************Phoebe Penelope Black; age 15; wavy black hair w/ blonde highlights; bright blue eyes; pureblood; is a Hogwarts fifth year student; single**

**************Halley Harper Black; age 15; wavy blonde hair w/ black highlights; bright blue eyes; pureblood; is a Hogwarts fifth year student; single**

**************Orion James Black; age 12; wavy blonde hair; bright blue eyes; pureblood; is a Hogwarts second year student**

**************Cetus Remus Black; age 10; wavy black hair; bright blue eyes; pureblood**

**************Teddy Remus Lupin; age infant; metamorphagus; half-blood  
**

**************~Enemies~**

******************Draco Lucius Malfoy; age 18; shaggy blonde hair; deep gray eyes; pureblood; works in the MoM Department of International Magical Cooperation International Confederation of Wizards (British seats); dating Hermione Granger**

******************Antonin Crnobog Dolohov; age 47; shaggy black hair; deep brown eyes; pureblood; is a Neo-Death Eater; single**

******************Thorfinn Odin Rowle; age 39; cropped blonde hair; deep blue eyes; pureblood; is a Neo Death Eater; single**

******************Bellatrix Ursa Black-Lestrange; age 47; curly black hair; deep brown eyes; pureblood; is a Neo Death Eater; divorced**

******************Other members of The Neo Death Eaters Alliance To Avenge Voldemort (NDEAAV); which was formed after the defeat of Lord Voldemort at the hands of Harry Potter during the Battle of Hogwarts**

* * *

******************_Setting: Mid-August 1998 (a/n: keep in mind, some of the characters' ages will change throughout the story due to upcoming birthdays, but for the beginning chapters their ages are accurate to the character list. Also, I'm not going to mention any birthdays that may occur because it's not important to the plot)._**

_******************Plot: **_******************The Second Wizarding War is over and done, the Evil has lost, and the Good have won...**

******************Now, the Evil forces have formed an alliance called The Neo Death Eaters Alliance To Avenge Voldemort, or simply NDEAAV. They are angry over the downfall of their ruler/leader, and seek to destroy the Wizarding World and finish what their master started. It would be easy for the large and powerful organizations of Dumbledore's Army and The Order of The Phoenix to defeat them once more, except for one thing...no one knows, because the Death Eaters are planning a top secret attack.**

******************Can Harry along with his family and friends catch wind of this and save Wizardkind once again...or will it be too late? One thing is certain though; time is of the essence.**

******************(a/n: In case the character list confused anyone, yes, the Marauders are in this. None of them were killed not even Lily and James. Voldemort was still after Harry though, because he never found him (Potters kept Sirius as their secret keeper versus Pettigrew), and was afraid because of the prophecy that Harry could destroy him. So the Battle of Hogwarts still happened and everything, but more people survived). **

* * *

_Chapter 1: Break-Ups & Butterbeers _

Ron Weasley walked to his girlfriend Hermione's downtown flat. The sky was a clear turquoise and the sunshine beamed down on him, warm and bright. There was even a cool breeze that blew through the large city. All in all, it was a very nice afternoon. It was around 4 o'clock, and evening was approaching.

He reached her apartment building, jogged up the stairs, and knocked on the door. When no one answered, he tried again. Still no answer. Ron was confused, he and Hermione had agreed to meet that day at this exact time.

"Mione come on, open up!" he yelled, banging on the door again.

"Hang on!" Hermione's voice could be heard on the other side of the door, along with scrambling and shuffling noises.

Ron huffed and tapped his feet impatiently. A few seconds later, the door opened, and Hermione stepped back to let him in. She appeared quite disheveled, her already bushy hair was all mussed and a couple of buttons on her blouse were left undone. "Did you just wake up or something?" Ron asked.

Hermione's face reddened a bit, and she shifted nervously on her feet. "Oh, um...yeah, I was..." she stuttered.

"Is everything alright, 'Mione?" Ron pushed, becoming a bit suspicious of what she'd been up to.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be, Ronald?" Hermione replied, avoiding his gaze.

"You just seemed...nevermind," Ron said dismissively.

"Can I get you something to eat?" Hermione asked.

"Nah. I was thinking maybe we'd grab a bite at The Leaky Cauldron," Ron said.

"Oh, alright, sounds good," Hermione agreed. "Let me grab my jacket," she added, her voice was a bit shaky.

Ron nodded. He watched as she walked over to the hall closet. Once her back was completely turned, he slowly crept towards her bedroom. Ever so slowly, he turned the knob and opened the door. Sure enough, there appeared to be someone in her bed.

He whipped back the covers triumphantly, revealing an underwear clad Draco Malfoy. "BLOODY HELL WEASEL!" Draco shouted, throwing a pillow at Ron's face.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERMIONE'S BED?!" Ron roared, throwing the pillow back at Draco.

"ASK YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Draco snapped, just as Hermione appeared in the doorway.

Ron spun on his heels and shot daggers with his eyes at Hermione, who was blushing a deep shade of red. "HAVE YOU BEEN SHAGGING MALFOY BEHIND MY BACK?!" he raged.

Hermione bit her lip. "Ron I..."

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Ron yelled, knocking over a lamp on her bedside table. It shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces on the floor. "WE'RE DONE!" he shouted, storming out of the apartment and slamming the door behind him. He could scarcely believe that his Hermione would cheat on him with a scumbag like Malfoy. Especially after he'd teased her and called her a mudblood for so many years.

Ignoring Hermione's desperate pleas, he headed for The Leaky Cauldron, knowing a nice cool Butterbeer would certainly make him feel better. Meanwhile, the most popular wizarding pub in London was swamped. It seemed to be almost everyone's go-to hangout spot this time of year.

A drunk wizard stumbled up to the bar, where Hannah Abbott was sliding Butterbeers down the counter to all of the patrons. "I get 'hundred sickles ma'm? I won it in that Quidditch lottery, y'see," he slurred.

Hannah, not really hearing the drunk nonsense he'd spoken, said "I'll see to you in a second Sir, it's very busy in here at the moment."

"Kay, but don't let the Centaurs bite," the man said, taking a seat on one of the barstools.

"ORDER 12's READY!" Hannah yelled, putting two bowls of pea soup and two glasses of Firewhiskey on the counter.

Marlene ran over to the bar and grabbed the food to bring over to one of the tables. "Thanks Han!" she said.

Hannah smiled happily. "No problem Marls!" she replied. She knew it sounded a bit odd, but she was really good friends with the older witch, and most of the workers went by their nicknames anyways.

Just then, the door of the pub creaked open again, for probably the hundreth time that day. Ron walked in, looking very glum and somewhat angry, and slouched into a chair at an empty table. Marlene noticed this out of the corner of her eye, and went over to sit across from him.

"Everything alright Ron?" she asked. She'd always liked hers and Sirius' godson's friends.

"Not really Mrs. Black," Ron sighed miserably.

"Oh no, what's the matter?" Marlene prodded.

"Just caught my girlfriend sleeping around with mine and Harry's arch enemy, Draco Malfoy," Ron grumbled.

"Seriously? I'm shocked! I'd always viewed Hermione as so smart, so much better than that," Marlene shook her head.

"Me too," Ron said, looking down at his hands.

"Can I get you anything?" Marlene asked, patting his arm sympathetically.

"Yeah, can you ask Hannah to make me a Butterbeer, or two...or three?" Ron looked up.

"Sure." Marlene laughed and went over to the bar.

Ron looked around the pub and sighed, running his hand through his shaggy red hair. A few minutes later, Hannah was standing over him with a tray of two glasses of Butterbeer. "Is it true that Hermione cheated on _you_, with _Malfoy_?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Ron grumbled.

"I'm sorry, had to ask. I could scarcely believe my ears when Marlene told me," Hannah smiled sympathetically. "So I guess it's safe to assume you guys won't be joining Neville and I for dinner next weekend?" she asked. Ron snorted.

"Mhm," he muttered.

Hannah nodded. "I've got to get back to the bar, sorry...again, enjoy your drinks," she said, walking away.

Ron sat back and groaned into his hands. The whole pub was full of couples, couples who didn't cheat on each other. In the back corner of the room, sat his good friends Seamus Finnigan and Luna Lovegood, holding hands.

He had to admit he couldn't quite grasp what in the world Seamus saw in Loony, but somehow things just worked between them. Maybe it was because they both had Irish accents, or Seamus was just attracted to her quirkiness, no one really knew. One thing was for sure though, Luna was faithful. Unlike Hermione, Ron thought bitterly.

Just then, there was the sound of a chair being knocked over near the bar. Ron looked up to see a drunk wizard stumbling out of the pub. Hannah was standing behind the counter shaking her head as one of the other waitresses picked up the barstool.

"Here, read the _Prophet _yet?" Marlene asked, dropping the latest copy of _The Daily Prophet_ on his table as she walked past him with a full platter of food.

"Thanks," Ron waved.

_LARGE GROUP OF DEATH EATERS STILL MISSING, MINISTRY OF MAGIC OFFICIALS TRYING TO TRACK THEM DOWN._

Ron rolled his eyes and sipped his Butterbeer. The Ministry never knew how to leave well enough alone. He was beginning to question if he really wanted to become an Auror afterall. _They are awfully quiet lately, no one's seen any of them, can't the Ministry just leave them be as to not trigger another full blown war?_

"Hey Ron, how's it goin'?" Neville asked cheerfully, sitting down across from him.

"Oh, hey Neville..." Ron looked up, twiddling his thumbs.

"Everything okay mate? Ya sound a bit down," Neville asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you would too if you caught your girlfriend shagging Draco Malfoy," Ron snapped irritably, looking away.

Neville's eyes widened. "Hermione hooked up with Malfoy? I thought they hated each other!" he exclaimed, confused.

Ron sighed. "Don't go announcing it to the whole pub mate," he grumbled.

"Oh, right, sorry," Neville whispered.

"Hey Nev," Hannah was back at their table. She placed a piping hot bowl of pea soup and a Butterbeer in front of Neville, gently pecking the side of his face. She looked over at Ron again. "Want any soup Ron?" she offered.

"No thanks Hannah," Ron said.

"Thanks for the soup Hannie," Neville said.

"See you in about an hour love," Hannah whispered to Neville, walking away again.

Neville was looking at the newspaper on the table. "I see the Ministry's lookin' for some more trouble, it's not enough the Death Eaters aren't openly attacking us so the Ministry has to go look for 'em..." he shook his head.

Ron nodded. "Exactly," he agreed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, as Ron watched Neville enjoying his soup that Hannah brought him. They were such a good couple, Neville and Hannah, Ron thought to himself. Even before she'd cheated, his relationship with Hermione was nothing like theirs, they were constantly arguing.

_Why can't I just be happy for once? I've waited all these years to finally get Hermione, and then she goes and shags that slimy git Malfoy, but all we ever did was argue anyways._

"You're thinking about Hermione, aren't ya mate?" Neville asked, breaking the silence.

"Is it really that obvious?" Ron groaned, staring intently into his Butterbeer glass.

"Don't worry about it, you guys will work things out, eh Ron?" Neville said reassuringly.

"I don't think so Neville," Ron snapped.

"Nah?" Neville pushed.

"She slept with bloody Malfoy...I can't forgive that!" Ron hissed angrily.

Neville nodded and sat back in his chair dejectedly. "True."

Ron rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Look, I'm sorry mate, it's not your fault... I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just, without 'Mione, I dunno what the bloody hell to do with myself," he admitted.

"It's fine...and I'm sure you'll find someone else, or work it out somehow...dunno," Neville shrugged, finishing his soup.

"Yeah, maybe," Ron nodded, drinking the last of his Butterbeer.

"You could always go back to Lavender..." Neville teased.

"Ha. If I had to hear 'won won' one more time, I'd feed myself to a dragon," Ron smirked.

Neville bust out laughing, wiping some Butterbeer foam off his upper lip. "Got a point there mate," he agreed.

Ron grinned. "So does Hannah have any annoying names for you?" he asked.

"No, thank Merlin!" Neville laughed.

"Not even one?" Ron prodded.

"Well...sometimes I don't like it when she calls me 'sweetums' in front of people...it reminds me too much of Gran," Neville chuckled. His Gran still talked to him like he was eight versus eighteen. "Not to pick the scab, but there must have been something Hermione called you, right?" he asked.

"Yeah...she'd always scold me like I was a kid and call me Ronald when we argued. It was quite annoying really, she acted like my Mum!" Ron laughed.

"Oh I remember those arguments!" Neville said. "They were loud and would last for hours!" he chuckled.

"I think anyone who has ears remembers them," Ron smirked.

Talking to Neville made Ron feel a bit better, but he knew that this heart break would take awhile to mend. He still couldn't believe that Hermione would do such a thing to him, with Malfoy of all people.


	2. Dark Plans & Escapes From Azkaban

_Chapter 2: Dark Plans & Escapes From Azkaban_

As evening drew nearer, and the sun began to set, a small group of wizards and witches in black cloaks all gathered around inside of a small cottage. There were two men, Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle, and one lady, Bellatrix Lestrange.

"When are the others getting here, I don't have all night you know!" Bellatrix snapped, carelessly leaning against the wall.

"They will be here, now shut up and wait!" Dolohov growled, sitting down at the table.

"DON'T EVER SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY AGAIN!" Bellatrix screamed in rage, lunging towards Dolohov and grabbing his robe. Her breath reeked of stale wizard booze and teeth left unbrushed.

"I-I'm sorry...Madam Lestrange..." Dolohov panted, eyes wide.

"I told you never to call me that!" Bellatrix hissed. "I am no longer associated with that idiot Rodolphus, I go by Bella, and that is it!" she corrected him.

"What about Trixie?" Thorfinn snickered, standing against the wall in the far corner of the room.

"SHUT IT!" Bellatrix shrieked. She turned abruptly on her heels to face him. "Well don't just stand there Rowle, you useless nincompoop! Go outside and watch for the others!" she snapped irritably.

Thorfinn scowled and headed towards the door. Dolohov gave his friend a look saying 'please don't leave me alone with her' just as the door shut. Bellatrix cackled loudly and grabbed a banana in the kitchen. "Who owns this piece a shite cottage anyways?" Dolohov asked.

Bellatrix shrugged. "Probably some muggle scum...but it was the best place we could find to meet in secret," she said.

"Look out there...I see people coming," Dolohov said, nodding towards the window.

"Ah, good eye Tony!" Bellatrix cackled, going over to the glass.

Sure enough, Thorfinn was heading back towards the house, and several cloaked figures were following him. The door creaked open and more Neo-Death Eaters stepped inside the small cottage. They all took off their hoods.

There were thirteen in total not counting Bellatrix, Dolohov, and Rowle. There was; Amycus and Alecto Carrow, Crabbe Sr., Goyle Sr., Rookwood, Avery Sr. and Jr., Mulciber Sr. and Jr., Nott Sr., Rosier Sr., Macnair, and Travers.

"LISTEN UP!" Antonin Dolohov yelled. They all looked up at him. "There are sixteen of us, that's not even a third of the combined forces of the Order and Dumbledore's Army. If we try to attack, we've got no chance, not without the Dark Lord and those of us no longer alive or defected or imprisoned..." he said.

"Is that why you called us here Tony? Is that it? If you're just gonna state the obvious I'm out of here!" Travers shouted impatiently.

"SHUT IT TRAVERS!" Bellatrix screamed, sending a cold chill down everyone's spines. Travers closed his mouth and sat down.

"Yeah...anyways, I'm sayin' if we're gonna plan some sort of comeback...it's gotta be a secret," Dolohov finished.

Just as Rookwood opened his mouth to say something, there was a loud knocking at the door. Bellatrix went over and opened it, revealing Selwyn and Yaxley, looking disheveled and crazed in Azkaban uniforms. "We broke out, caught word you'd all be here," Yaxley grunted, stepping inside.

Bellatrix shut the door behind them. "How'd ya break out?" Avery Jr. asked.

"Not tellin'!" Selwyn snapped. "So, what's goin' on here?" he wanted to know.

"It's a secret meeting, so we're not tellin'!" Avery snapped back.

Selwyn crossed his arms. "Oh stop acting like ickle babies...it's a meeting to discuss how we're going to finish what the Dark Lord started," Bellatrix explained, pacing about the tiny room.

Yaxley furrowed a brow. "How're we gonna do that? There's only eighteen of us..." he asked skeptically.

"Well that's what we're tryin' to figure out now, ain't it?" Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Now sit and shut up!" she ordered.

"Who says you're our new leader, eh Bella?" Mulciber growled. "Why we gotta listen to you?" he challenged.

"SHUT IT AN LET HER SPEAK WILL YA?" Thorfinn shouted, pointing his wand at Mulciber.

Bellatrix smirked, she had Rowle and Dolohov wrapped around her finger. "Thanks Finny...so as I was saying, now that the Dark Lord has been vanquished we must fight back against those who took away our master. All the Dark Lord ever wanted was to take over the Wizarding World. So, as his loyal servants, that is what we must find a way to do!" she explained.

Dolohov and Rowle nodded. "So who's in?" Dolohov asked.

This question resulted in a resounding 'YES' from all of the Neo-Death Eaters.

"WHAT DO WE HATE?" Bellatrix screamed.

"MUDBLOODS!" they all cried.

"WHO DO WE WORSHIP?" Antonin yelled.

"VOLDEMORT!" they all shouted.

"WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT IT?" Thorfinn roared.

"AVENGE HIM!" they all screamed.

Bellatrix nodded and crossed her arms. "Good," she said.

Dolohov walked to the other end of the room. "Now it's dangerous out there for us. We've got to stay hidden. So, since the Ministry already knows all our old Headquarters spots, we'll be staying here. There's two beds upstairs an' a couch, another couch and an two armchairs down here, and the floor of course. No one is to leave unless absolutely necessary," he announced.

There was a few grunts and groans, but eventually they all agreed to stay. None of them wanted to be shut back in Azkaban.

Meanwhile, it seemed as if everyone was showing up at The Leaky Cauldron. Lily and James Potter came in with Harry and Melanie, Sirius brought his and Marlene's twins and boys, and even Remus and Tonks Lupin arrived with baby Teddy. Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, had arrived mere moments before and sat down with her brother and Neville.

"Over here guys!" Ron called, waving their friends over.

"Hey mate!" Harry yelled excitedly, running over to their table. "Oh hey Neville!" he added brightly, noticing his other roommate. Then he noticed the third person sitting at the table, and turned a deep shade of red. "Hi Ginny," he said with an awkward smile, shifting nervously on his feet.

"Hi Harry..." Ginny said his name slowly, blushing.

"Pull up a chair mate!" Ron insisted. Neville nodded.

"So how've you guys been?" Harry asked, sitting down. Not a minute later, Melanie pulled up a chair next to her brother.

"Hey Mel," Ginny smiled, grateful to have another girl at the table. She and Melanie were good friends because they were both Gryffindors going into their seventh year at Hogwarts, and roommates.

"Hey Gin," Melanie laughed.

Even Hannah came over to chat with them all, taking a break from her barmaid duties. Her shift would be over in a few minutes anyways. Since there wasn't room for another chair, she sat down on Neville's left knee, not really caring if anyone looked at them weird. "Hello." She smiled.

Harry smiled too. "Hi Hannah."

"Hey love," Neville grinned, softly kissing the top of her head.

"So anyways Harry, I caught Hermione shagging Malfoy!" Ron was saying, angrily clenching his fists under the table.

"Seriously?" Harry asked incredulously, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Well they weren't shagging right then...but she looked all disheveled and she was acting weird, so I looked in her room and Malfoy was in her bed...in his tight white little underwear!" Ron clarified, still furious.

"Oh no Ron, that's awful. I would never do something like that if I had a boyfriend," Melanie said sympathetically.

"Thanks Melanie, I wish Hermione could take a few pages out of your book," Ron huffed sadly.

"What in Merlin's name are you guys talking about over here?" Phoebe and Halley Black echoed, standing next to the table with their arms crossed, and smirking.

"I heard underwear!" Orion snickered.

"They're talking about naughty things!" Cetus exclaimed.

Harry laughed. "Hey guys."

Melanie grinned. "Hi Pheebs, Hals," she greeted the twins, who had already shooed off their brothers.

"Oh look guys, Seamus and Luna are coming over," Ginny pointed out, nodding across the room.

"Hey!" Harry called, grinning.

Seamus and Luna walked over and grabbed some chairs from a nearby table. "Fancy seein' you lot here!" Seamus grinned.

Neville chuckled. "Yeah!" he agreed.

"Luna I love your necklace!" Hannah smiled brightly, referring to Luna's bottle cap necklace.

"It wards off wrackspurts," Luna whispered, looking around as if the 'wrackspurts' might hear her.

"Wrackspurts?" Hannah asked, confused.

"They float in your ears and make your brain go fuzzy, and apparently they're invisible," Ginny whispered, remembering the time she'd asked Luna that. Hannah shared a 'what in Merlin's name' look with Neville, and they almost kissed, but decided against it as everyone was there.

Seamus flashed his friends a knowing wink before wrapping a protective arm around Luna. "Ye know I love it when ya talk like that," he grinned.

Ron and Harry pretended to gag, and Neville snickered under his breath. "Bite me," Harry laughed.

"Ah shut it," Seamus chuckled.

"What?" Ron grinned.

"Thought you kids could use some more Butterbeers before my shift ended for the night," Marlene said, placing a large tray filled with Butterbeers in the center of the table. They all thanked her and each grabbed a glass.

Marlene went over to join the adults at their table on the other end of the room. While the teenagers were goofing around, the adults were having a more serious conversation.

Sirius pulled out the chair next to him and she sat down. "...yeah, two got out. Not sure how, they just did..." Tonks was saying.

"What are we talking about?" Marlene asked.

"There was an Azkaban break-out Marls, two Death Eaters escaped and no one knows how," Lily filled her in.

"Merlin's beard Lils..." Marlene's eyes widened.

"Yes, the Ministry is sending Aurors to investigate," Tonks said.

"If they're caught, it's highly unlikely there will be any second trials, hopefully they'll just lock them right back up," Lupin added.

"Couldn't agree more Moony," James chimed in.

"The strange thing is though, even though they've escaped, there hasn't been any trouble from the Death Eaters still on the loose for two months," Sirius piped up.

"Interesting point Padfoot," James agreed. "I think they're up to something, don't you?" he asked.

"Probably," Sirius nodded. "They always are..." he said.

"So no owls from your dear cousins Bellatrix or Narcissa?" Marlene teased.

"Not a one Marls," Sirius laughed.

"Hmm..." Lupin mused. "I've got a bad feeling about all this," he said.

"Relax Remus, nothing's happened yet, let's just see where things go..." Tonks said soothingly, rubbing her husband's back. Teddy gurgled in his high chair and Lupin fed him some more applesauce.

James was looking down at the latest _Daily Prophet _headline: **TWO EX-DEATH EATERS ESCAPE AZKABAN PRISON...HOW DID THEY DO IT?!**

Lily rested her head on his shoulder. "I know what you're thinking James, but I don't know, I really don't," she said quietly.

"This doesn't make any sense..." James scratched his head.

"I agree Prongs, why would they escape just to stay under the radar? If they aren't going to attack, what's with the sudden break-out?" Sirius mused.

"You know the '95 and '97 break-outs were something to do with the Dark Lord, like he got them out somehow. But he's gone now, so how could those two have escaped with all the extra security Azkaban has now? And...why?" Marlene wondered aloud.

"My point, exactly," James said.

It was getting dark outside, especially way out in the hillsides. Bellatrix and Dolohov stood in the kitchen of the small cottage, the other Neo-Death Eaters had gone to bed. "So what's our plan...Bella? When will we strike?" Dolohov asked, breaking the silence.

Bellatrix cackled quietly in the dark room. "We will wait, and we shall come up with such a brilliant plan that they won't even see it coming. This plan will be so great, that it could be something equal to one the Dark Lord might have come up with himself," she said.


End file.
